ADTRAN Hits Target On SMBADTRAN Hits Target On SMB

Removing the barriers to adoption of IP/SIP is a move that ADTRAN has hit spot-on, that targets the SMB and opens up new opportunities

ADTRAN introduced their Session Border Controller capability that nails secure connections for their partner Managed Services Providers (MSPs). Their software initially supports 50 concurrent sessions and this I believe is going to impact the SMB telephony space.

The MSPs now have an arsenal of tools and security for that soft demarcation. The SBC is currently offered in the Netvanta 3430 and 6000 series and Total Access 900e products. But this is only the initial offering and when I spoke with Chris Thompson, Senior Product Manager of Enterprise Networks Division at ADTRAN, Chris said that there would be some trickle down of the SBC to other ADTRAN products. ADTRAN also plans to introduce options for 25 or 100 concurrent sessions.

The SBC isn't the only feature they've added. MSPs need header manipulation and capabilities to deal with NAT. But what I really like is that ADTRAN added an onboard packet capture that will upload to WireShark.

Companies with onsite SBC capabilities face the music when they open up their SIP trunks for International dialing. They are often challenged by their SIP trunk provider and must sign off any liability and agree to pay the charges made on their account. The providers cite that the PBX and router configurations are the customer responsibility.

It behooves ADTRAN to provide the SBC and other features in the Netvanta product line. SIP Trunk deployment isn't gaining the traction other than SMBs like me that refuse to shell out dollars for landlines. SIP Trunks aren't standard fare among the providers and premise gear. NAT traversal and security concerns about SIP are key roadblocks to more deployments. Then, with the additional ability to manipulate headers, providers can up their chances for successful SIP trunk implementations. Having the tools onsite is a plus that could potentially change the customer experience from negative to positive.

We just met with a multi-site customer that explained to us that their hosted telephony services in one state simply don't work, their PBX in another is on its last leg and their call center is a huge expense that is choking them. As we dug into their issues we immediately found that their infrastructure needs work. Then, there is a lack of adequate tools onsite. None of this is new to what we hear and find from customers. In another instance we have a large multi-site customer that is looking for cost benefits and we just started upgrading their hardware to accommodate SIP trunks, UC and call center features. Their payback is projected at 14 months and it may decrease because we keep finding new opportunities as we complete site surveys.

ADTRAN's timing couldn’t be better and the MSPs are likely to improve their telephony share more. Removing the barriers to adoption of IP/SIP is a move that ADTRAN has hit spot-on that targets the SMB and opens up new opportunities by overcoming NAT issues, compatibility with SIP URI, security concerns and diagnostic and troubleshooting tools to assure a better customer experience. Service providers can connect more SIP trunks and hosted telephony with potentially less hardware costs and greater flexibility.